Catalina Island Casino: Hollywood Glamour, Big Bands & Today’s Must‑See Events

So excited. We're in Avalon, Catalina Island. I'm with Wesley Alvin, creative director of the Catalina Island Company, and we're at the casino. Wesley, you're going to show us around. Absolutely. Welcome, Pat. It's good to have you here. We're so happy to be here. And we're doing everything. But this is the landmark that most people associate with the island. That's right. It's kind of our jewel. It's our icon. It's your golden gate. Absolutely. Well, show me around. OK, come on in. Thank you. Thank you. I'm Pat Patterson, and I love California. Oh, my gosh. So this is a real old school projection. That's right. This is the projection room for the Avalon Theater. And we have quite a historical timeline of all our projectors that we've used over the years. And so movie moguls, Louis B. Mayer, Cecily Deneuil, they would come and preview movies here? That's right. So not only was Catalina kind of the center of the golden age of Hollywood for movie stars to get away, they also started shooting movies here on the island since 1926. Dozens of movies starting in the early 1900s, all the way to the casino opening in 1926. We're 24 miles from Culver City. That's right. I went on a boat and take it out here and film it. That's right. It was a perfect distance for being part of Hollywood's backlot, but also within the radius of the studios so that movie stars would come over here, go on vacation and still technically be on call for work. Wow. Now, what's that big deal over there? Oh, that's our light board. That's the original lighting board here in the theater or here in the projection room. Control all the lights down on the stage. So the projectionist could control everything from up here, the projectors and the lighting. Give me a year, circa what year would this have been built? 1929. Everything in the building is pretty much as used as it would have been in 1929. That's unbelievable. Well, watch. No, no, I'm not going to do it. That's incredible. So, Wesley, what is this price? This is the Wrigley Ballroom here at the Catalina Casino, the world's largest circular dance floor. World's largest. Oh, my gosh. Well, what do I do? You look like you're ready to go. So, Wesley, I love the big band here. Who's played here? Well, the largest attendant dance we had was Kay Kaiser with 6000 dancers up here in this ballroom. 6000 dancers. Oh, my gosh. Name a few more. We've had Bob Crosby. We've had a whole number of bands up here. Wow, that's so great. And so now, currently, what's the most popular thing? Well, we have a handful of events throughout the year. We've got our Jazz Tracks Festival every October. That brings a bunch of people out here to listen to smooth jazz music. Wow. That leads into our New Year's Eve party. Every New Year's Eve. It's been going over 50 years now. That would be something. We've got, man. That's got to be like that of a movie. Oh, it is. We got the big balloon drop at the end of the night. Oh, my gosh. Nine o'clock strikes 12. Lots of fun. Another one of my favorites is the Avalon Ball in May. That's the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles comes out here. Everybody's dressed in like period attire. Wow. So they step right into the era. And not only when they're here in the casino, they do it around town, too, with their boater hats and parasols. And you're roller skating now that it's back in style. We are. We've got roller skating here available just about every day that we're open. I got to try that out. Rent a pair of skates. It was actually originally in the Sugarloaf Casino that was here previously. Oh, wow. 1926, Mr. Wrigley offered roller skating right here on Casino Point. That's incredible. So that's our look at Catalina Island. I want to thank Wesley, all the people that were so hospitable to us. Come visit Catalina Island soon. Thanks. Oh, thank you, Pat. I'm Pat Patterson, and I love California.